The Traveler's Prophecy
by TheArtemisWriters
Summary: 15 years ago, campers were suddenly disappearing. The gods are choosing their Greek or Roman aspects and planning a war. A prophecy about a strange traveler emerges. When Victor, a mysterious son of Demeter accidentally arrives at camp he has to go on a quest with Liza and Lexa. The undecided gods are having a contest to see whether they're going to side with the Greeks or Romans
1. Chapter 1

Lexa was picking strawberries at dusk. She heard a noise. She drew out her spear, Silver Mist. It was a gift from her mother Athena. She walked slowly towards the noise.

''Whoever is there, come out!'' she yelled. Nothing happened. Was it just a squirrel or was it a monster? She considered going back for reinforcements. Suddenly, ivy shot out from the ground and caught her ankles. It was no normal ivy. The leaves were huge and the stems were thick. It was growing fast. Too fast.

''Stop it, son of Demeter,'' a voice said from behind her. A centaur was standing behind her.

''How do you know who I am?'' he asked defiantly.

''I don't know who you are. I can only see that you are a son of Demeter.'' the centaur said calmly, ''Now untangle Lexa. She's a camper here.'' The boy stepped out of the bushes. A pretty girl of about fourteen was cutting the vines as fast as he was making them grow.

''You!'' she yelled as she saw him. The vines vanished from her ankles. She then saw the centaur,

''Who is he, Chiron?'' she asked still pointing her sword at the boy.

''He is a son of Demeter. His name is-,'' Chiron started realizing that he didn't know the boy's name.

''My name is Victor. Victor Hawk.'' the boy said.

* * *

Liza paused, stepping quietly through the thick fern fronds. She had heard unusual noises coming from across the clearing. Her sharp sense kicking in, she slid smoothly through the bushes concealing her from sight.

"Psst! Liza! What are you doing?" Her right-hand knife, Letum asked. "Quiet!" She hissed back. He fell silent. She peered through the foliage, and was shocked. Chiron and the head counselor of Athena cabin, Lexa, were standing there talking to an unfamiliar boy. Ivy vines were loosely tangled around Lexa's legs.

"My name is Victor. Victor Hawk." The dark-haired boy said. Chiron nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, son of Demeter, you seem to have wandered into our camp. Would you like to stay? It is the only safe haven for demigods, you know." The boy, Victor, shrank back and hissed.

"I have no home! I wander free, just like my mother! She gave me a quest, and I won't give up on it! So, I'll pass, thank you very much!" He whipped around, and stormed towards my bush.

"Wait for it..." Letum said. As Victor crashed through, I slid smoothly out of thin shadows, and stepped behind him, pressing Letum to his throat. He went rigid. "Now," I said calmly and quietly, "Listen to me, or Letum here will slice your throat open. Follow me, don't escape, and tell me everything." I have that effect on people, I can make them go quiet with fear, just like my father. He nodded as best as he could, and we shadow-traveled away.

* * *

Lexa saw Liza run after the boy. Did she know him? She raced after her. Just when they came back into view, they shadow traveled away.

''Drat,'' Lexa sighed. She quickly ran back to camp. Chiron, Liza and Victor were already there. His green eye and brown eye blinked menacingly. Lexa glared at him.

''What were you thinking? Let's just attack a stranger with some ivy!'' Lexa growled. Her dart like eyes pierced Victor. He didn't cower under her angry gray gaze like most people. It took a lot to get Lexa angry, but when you crossed the line she would make you scared.

''It wasn't even poison ivy,'' Victor said smugly.

''Fine, Earthworm,'' Lexa said.

''Duel. At midnight. Or are you too scared?'' Victor said. Lexa smiled. She tried to hide the dread she was feeling.

''Alright. May the best demigod win,'' she said as she shook Victor's hand.

* * *

"May the best demigod win." Lexa said grimly, and shook hands with the traveler. He returned the gesture, glaring mockingly at her with his mis-matched eyes, like colors of the earth. Liza smiled to herself, and shadow-traveled into the deepest part of the forest in camp. Once she arrived, she drew her two knives. They were twelve inches long, made of stygian iron, and gleamed menacingly in the quickly fading sunlight. "Well, Letum, Mors, what do you think? Should we follow them to this midnight duel?" She dropped them both on the ground with fierce certainty. They shifted and formed, until two full-grown wolves stood in front of her. Both were a dark gray-silver, with shining golden eyes. They were about four feet tall, and reached nearly up to her chest. Pure white fangs shone from in their muzzles. They let out equal churuffs of wolf laughter.

"Yes, Liza, I think we should!" Mors said, snickering.

"Why not? We even might witness a fun, surprise!" Letum emphasized the word surprise, and Liza knew what he meant. She smiled. Her plan would go perfectly.

"Well, then, boys. Let's go put this surprise into action!" They transformed back into knife form, as Liza grabbed them, and shadow-traveled to where she knew the duel would be held. For some strange reason, shadow-travel didn't have much of an effect on her, it didn't drain much of her energy at all, so she could do it regularly. As for how she knew where the duel was going to be held?

Well, children of Hades know those things.

* * *

Lexa Granger was many things but she was not a coward. She didn't break promises. So she was standing in the forest at exactly midnight just as planned. Of course she was was scared. The traveler was scary. And nobody was in the forest to make sure he didn't do anything evil...just Victor and her.

So when Victor didn't arrive she was relieved. Just a bit. The out of the tree he came. He grinned.

''Didn't think I would come, Owl Face?'' he asked.

''I thought you were too chicken, Earthworm. So what I think of you has gone up microscopically,'' Lexa retorted, ''Now are we going to fight or not?'' She drew out Silver Mist.

''I didn't think you'd ask,'' Victor said. Suddenly, all of the leaves on the trees stayed still even though there was a gentle breeze. They all dropped and turned into people.

''You're getting leaves to fight your battles?'' Lexa sneered. Her heart dropped. She was very badly out numbered. It was time for the daughter of Athena to escape and bring reinforcements. There was no use trying to fight. But then they circled around her. She slashed through the leaves kicking and hitting as she went. She the summoned the Mist. But suddenly the leaves multiplied. She climbed back up the tree and threw the sword. It sliced through the leaves as she yelled.

"ATTACK IN THE FOREST! ATTACK IN THE FOREST! ATTACK IN THE FOREST!'' she yelled. She saw lights turn on in the cabins below and people come out as the sword hit the ground. Mist filled the air. The leaves and Victor were confused. She had bought herself time. The rest of the half bloods were marching up. There was going to be a battle.

And it was all her fault.

* * *

Liza paused mid-shadow, watching silently. Lexa was fighting bravely, but there were too many leaves. Lexa threw Silver Mist, and yelled for reinforcements. Soon enough, campers were swarming out, half dressed in battle armor, and half dressed in pajamas. Liza's heart sank. This battle wasn't what she had expected. She leaped out of the shadows, as the half-bloods charged over the hill. She immediately threw a Death Shield, and flew into the air with a flash.

"Stop!" She cried, "What would the Gods think of this? Fighting amongst yourselves?" The campers paused, warily.

"No! My father would approve of this battle! This stranger, this weakling son of Demeter has to go! He doesn't belong here!" Harry Green, son of Ares called out. And with that, the army charged forward. "STOP!" Liza screamed, but it was no use. They were headed towards Victor, and she could do nothing to stop them. Liza caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes, but just then, her concentration wavered, and the Death Shield vanished. She fell to the ground with a loud thump, and could only watch as the angry half-bloods ran towards a boy she thought was innocent.


	2. Chapter 2

''He's not innocent,'' Lexa breathed,''But we should hear his story,'' Liza nodded. Lexa grabbed Victor by the back of his shirt. Her sword had turned back into watch form on her wrist and she had turned it back into sword form. She pointed it back at Victor.

''It wasn't me, I promise,'' Victor said. Lexa squinted suspiciously.

''Any proof?'' she asked. She read his mind as Victor stared up at the sky as if waiting for something to happen.

Demeter, please help me, please. We both know it was Arrow who did this. He's been following me.

''Demeter would back me up,'' he whispered. Suddenly, the earth shook. The leaves all scattered back to their various places in the trees. Above Victor's head a glowing picture of wheat hovered. Everyone turned around and looked at him in astonishment.

''Demeter claimed Victor. Which means-'' Liza started.

''He's innocent in the eyes of Demeter,'' Lexa finished, ''Stop pointing your swords at him. There is a guy named Arrow on the loose. He's escaped but look for him.'' Everyone grudgingly obliged as they walked back to camp.

''What happened?'' Chiron asked as he met them halfway down the hill. He was wearing neon pink sparkly unicorn pajamas. His bad taste in fashion made Lexa flinch. She wasn't a fashionista herself but neon pink sparkly unicorn pajamas were too much for her taste.

Lexa quickly explained. Chiron's face changed from baffled to angry to worried. He sighed heavily.

''In that case, he has a choice. He can stay at Camp Half Blood or leave.'' He turned to Victor.

''I want to stay,'' Victor said quickly.

''In that case, Lexa and Liza have the job of helping him eh...adjust to Camp Half Blood,'' Chiron said. A very sleepy Mr.D came up the hill.

''What the matter? I was sleeping,'' Mr.D said. Chiron rolled his eyes.

* * *

Liza grabbed the surprisingly scrawny boy away by his arm.

"Hey! What are you–" His protest was cut off as she shadow-traveled away with him.

They arrived in front of Demeter's cabin. "Is this where I'm staying?" He asked. Liza rolled her eyes.

"No, you're going to sleep in the damp, cold woods. Of course you're staying here! I'm not allowed to go inside, but you're half-siblings will most likely welcome you with open arms. They also don't like me, 'cause I accidentally kill their plants sometimes. Have a good night's sleep!" Liza said busily, turning to walk away. "Wait!" Victor cried. She paused, and looked back. His eyes unnerved her, one green and one brown. "Thank you. Both you and Lexa. For standing up for me, I mean." Liza stopped. She was shocked. She could tell he genuinely meant it, too. No one had ever thanked her like that before. She awkwardly turned away again.

"Oh! Um... No problem! Well, see ya!" With this quick goodbye, she shadow-traveled to her cabin, and spent most of the night thinking about what had just happened.

* * *

An owl perched on top of the Demeter Cabin. She watched as Liza walked to the Hades Cabin before turning back into a human. It was Lexa.

''I must tell Liza to be polite once in a while,'' she muttered to herself, ''Liza might think she's better that everyone else because she's a daughter of one of the Big Three but there is no reason to treat everyone like they're dirt,'' She sighed. She didn't completely trust Liza. She was a good fighter and Lexa wouldn't want to face her in battle. Still, she was a daughter of Hades and didn't do much to endear herself to the other campers.

Lexa flew through the open window of the Athena Cabin. Her cabin mates didn't even bat an eyelash. They were used to Lexa's power. She had been there longer than all of them. Fourteen beads were strung on her necklace, one for each summer. She had lived here since she was born and stayed at the camp all year round. This was unusual for demigods who usually arrived at camp at age twelve or thirteen.

''Hey Lexa,'' Matthew said, ''Justin came here looking for you,''

''Did that idiot want help with his blueprint? I told him it wouldn't work and he keeps insisting I'm wrong. His favorite hobby is annoying me!'' Lexa groaned, ''Maybe he wants a deux ex machina solution to his problem,''

''You like him,'' Katie giggled.

''I don't!'' Lexa snapped. Fern started to giggle also. Lexa lay down on the top bunk of the bed and started to read. It was a book about the history of Camp Half Blood. It was extremely fascinating. She wondered if she liked Metal Brain. She wondered if Chiron was going to tell Victor about the prophecy anytime soon. Maybe Victor would choose her to go on the quest with him. Maybe.

The next morning at breakfast Chiron spoke about the prophecy. It had come at the about two months before on the Autumn Equinox. It said:

A traveler

Will chance upon the camp

A scroll shall unravel

And point to where to find

A golden egg

Grasped by dragon's claws

By water, air and ground

The three shall travel

Claws for one

Teeth for another

And an eye for the third

Victor was looking very uncomfortable at this point. Lexa felt sorry for him. She knew what it felt like to be singled out. Chiron had been told by Athena herself that Lexa was going to be more powerful that any child of Athena before her. She had given Chiron another prophecy:

A daughter of Athena

More powerful than any other

Will gain victory

Only if her loyalty is right

to her heart

No one else knew about this prophecy. Still, Lexa always felt like someone was watching her. Especially Chiron. She gave Victor an encouraging smile.

''Victor, you can choose two other campers to go along with you in this quest,'' Chiron said.

''I choose Lexa and Liza,'' Victor said.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

This wasn't Lexa's first quest. It was her first major quest. It was her second quest. The first quest went really badly. Lexa wasn't thrilled about going on a second one so soon. Especially since Liza was going on this one too. She wasn't really angry at her because of what happened on the first quest. She had gotten over that and just accepted that Liza probably did her best. It was what happened after the first quest.

About a month before, Liza, Lexa and Lexa's friend Spencer Snow of the Apollo Cabin were sent to go on a school field trip to see if a girl was really a demigod. Lexa was thrilled about the quest. This was a chance to show Chiron, who was suspicious of her that she was a good demigod.

The girl's name was Tessa. And yes, she was a demigod. A daughter of Dionysus in fact. Of course, Mr.D didn't just make everything easy and say she was a demigod. Because he like sending demigods on pointless quests, but that's beside the point. No pun intended.

Lexa, Liza and Spencer went on Buttercup the pegasus to the school and slipped in along with the rest of the kids. They sat together at the back of the bus. They were quiet and tried not to draw attention to themselves as they watched Tessa. She was completely normal and Lexa was starting to doubt she really was a demigod.

Fast forward to about three hours later. They were going into a cave along with the rest of the group.

''How high is the probability that there is a monster down there?'' Liza grumbled.

''She has a point,'' Spencer said to Lexa.

''We can't let Tessa go into a possibly-monster-infested cave alone. We have two options: we go into the cave or we convince her not to go into the cave.'' Lexa said. She turned around. Tessa had already gone into the cave.

''I guess we have to go in,'' Spencer sighed. He drew out his sword. Lexa held Silver Mist and Liza took out Letum and Mors. Lexa wondered what the Mist made their swords and knives look like. Probably extremely pointy pencils. They went in the cave behind Tessa. Lexa felt her spine crawl as she looked around. Could there be spiders here?

Tessa glanced at them. Her brown eyes widened as she dropped her clipboard. Her notes fell into the mud at the base of the cave.

''You have swords!'' she gasped.

''And knives,'' Liza chimed in.

''She can see through the Mist. So she's either a demigod or a mortal that can see through the Mist.'' Lexa said.

''I knew that I was magical! I can make grapes grow to be the size of beach balls!'' Tessa said.

''You're probably a daughter of Demeter,'' Liza said.

''Or Dionysus,'' Lexa said.

''Mr.D would have told us she was a demigod,'' Spencer pointed out.

''Anyways, we need to get you to Camp Half Blood,'' Lexa said, ''Let's go back out. Butter-,'' Her gray eyes widened. In front of her was a centaur. With fangs.

'''Not so fast. Cerberus wants new recruits,'' it whinnied. The mortals had gone deeper into the cave.

''I want to go to Camp Half Blood. Maybe you could ask somebody else?'' Tessa said. Letum turned into a wolf just as two other fanged centaurs came out on the other side, blocking their exit. Their eyes were yellow.

''All four of you would make good recruits. What do you say?'' the largest one whinnied.

''We already belong to Camp Half camp director, Chiron, is a centaur. Perhaps you know him?'' Lexa said. Maybe these were nice friendly centaurs with fangs and yellow eyes.

''We know him. We don't like that Camp Half Blood. We will ask you one last time. Join us or die.'' the largest one said. Lexa hoped there was a third option:escape.

''Letum! Attack!'' Liza said. Letum pounced and distracted the centaurs long enough for her to grab Tessa's hand and shadow travel out of the cave. Letum followed her out. Spencer and Lexa were alone with three angry fanged centaurs.

''Liza will come back,'' Lexa reassured Spencer, ''I'll distract them and you escape. I'll follow you,'' She turned into an owl. She flitted around the heads of the centaurs, her sword in her claws. They tried to swat at her but she was too fast. They stumbled out of the way. The mortals were out of the cave so she didn't have to worry about them seeing the centaurs. Spencer ran out with Lexa behind him. There was a big boom and Lexa hit the ground. The cave had caved in. Where was Spencer? Liza had taken Buttercup. She turned into an owl again and flew around looking for Spencer.

About five hours later, her cabin mate Matthew came on another pegasus. He looked relieved to see her.

''Where were you? Liza and the new demigod were back ages ago!'' he said. Lexa told him the story.

''You have to come back to the camp,'' Matthew said, ''We'll look later,'' Lexa wearily agreed. As they landed back at camp. Almost all of the campers were there. Even Tessa, who looked frightened but otherwise O.K. The only camper missing was Liza. Chiron was there.

''Come to my office,'' he said sternly. Lexa followed him grudgingly. Why was she in trouble? Liza was the one who left all of them behind. She sat on the chair across from the table he was sitting at.

''What happened?'' he asked. Lexa told him the whole story. He looked even grumpier when she mentioned the centaurs.

''I've never heard of centaurs with fangs and yellow eyes. Are you sure you aren't making this up?'' he asked. Lexa shook her head.

''Well, it matches Liza and Tessa's stories. Tessa has been claimed by Mr.D,'' Chiron said, ''An image of grapes appeared over her head.''

''Can I go look for Spencer?'' Lexa said as she thought about how pointless the quest had been.

''No. I don't want to send less than three campers out on a quest. And I don't want any more demigods to go missing.'' Chiron said, ''Plus you're the last camper I would send on another quest.''

''Why?'' Lexa asked.

''The prophecy is longer. I will only tell you the rest when its time,'' Chiron said.

''When do you think it will be time?'' Lexa asked.

''Hopefully never,'' Chiron said.

* * *

Lexa saw Liza again at dinner. She walked up to her with her tray in her hand. Liza turned around from Tessa who she was talking to. Tessa quickly scrambled away from the two serious (and dangerous) girls.

''Sorry about leaving you guys behind,'' Liza said, ''But Tessa didn't know how to defend herself and you have to admit, she's a bit dense. She'd probably try to give one of those centaurs a hug to make them happier.''

''You could have come back,'' Lexa pointed out.

''And left Tessa unguarded? It's hard work shadow traveling. There was something weird about that cave. My shadow traveling didn't work. We hit the ground outside the cave hard. I had to take Buttercup the rest of the way. I couldn't just go back. Why couldn't you just turn into an owl?'' Liza said.

''That's what I did! The same thing happened that happened with you shadow traveling! Did you think about how we were going to get away from the cave without Buttercup?'' I asked.

''You just left Spencer behind?'' Liza asked.

''No! I'm not you, leaving people behind! I let him go out first! The cave just exploded!'' Lexa yelled.

''What was I supposed to do? Tessa couldn't fight! Spencer couldn't escape! You couldn't think do anything but barf in mid-air!'' Liza yelled.

''Owls regurgitate! They don't barf! I don't even regurgitate! Owl do that to get the skeletons and fur from the rodents that they swallow whole out. I don't eat rodents!'' Lexa yelled. People giggled. Everyone had turned around and was watching them.

''I wouldn't be surprised if you did! I know that you are evil! There is some prophecy about you saying that you are going to destroy Camp Half Blood! I thought Chiron misinterpreted it, but I know he's right, Lexa Granger.'' Liza said. Everyone turned to me. I wondered if Liza was actually right. I shivered.

And that's how I became the most unpopular person at Camp Half Blood.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Liza looked around her inside the small dark, dreary train. Lexa was sitting across from her, Victor in front. Lexa had her arms crossed, staring ahead like she was about to challenge someone to a duel. Victor, on the other hand, was leaning on his elbow, staring peacefully and silently out of the window, watching the raindrops splash one by one on the thick glass. Liza wondered what he could possibly be thinking. Their quest? His unpopularity at camp? Or something else? Liza sighed. They were headed to Texas, and they still had three out of five hours left to go. It was incredibly boring. The few mortals on the train were either reading, surfing the internet, or sleeping. Liza checked to see if anyone was watching, then opened her palm, watching blue flames flicker faintly. Not flames, exactly, like the orange fire you see at campsites. Blue flames, as in magnetic pulses that look similar to fire. She had only recently discovered she could do this, and she had assumed it was because her Dad was Lord of the Underworld, death, skulls, deep earth metals, whatever. She was trying to grow this power, and make it stronger. No one was watching, which was good. At least, no mortals were watching her.

"Put that – that thing away, now! Before the mortals see it!" Lexa hissed, standing over. The pulses died instantly.

"No one was watching, it was completely safe." Liza retorted, looking around nervously, in case anyone was staring. Thankfully, they weren't. "What in Hades were you even doing!?" Lexa asked furiously. "Two things: One, none of your business. Two, please don't use my Dad's name in a bad way." Liza responded, still looking around. This train made her both claustrophobic and nervous. Lexa looked down at her defiantly. "Yes, I do have a right to know, because in case you forgot, last time we went on a quest, Spencer went missing!" She was pushing it too far now. It wasn't Liza's fault Spencer couldn't save himself from the cave collapse, and even if it was Lexa's fault, which it most likely wasn't, demigods do die most of the time, which Lexa obviously couldn't see or get over. Maybe it was because she had lived at Camp Half-Blood for so long, having never seen the real world until their last quest.

"Look Lexa," Liza tried to speak calmly, "It wasn't our faults at all that Spencer couldn't save himself. Plus, he didn't die in vain. He sacrificed himself to save Tessa, remember? There was nothing we could do!" Lexa clapped both her hands over her ears.

"Don't say that! He's not, I just know it! He's only missing in action!" Liza sighed, and reached out a hand to pat her back, then thought better of it. "Hey, hate to break it to you, but my Dad is Hades, for the love of Zeus! If he were alive, I could probably tell!" Just then, Victor whipped around in his seat, multi colored eyes glaring.

"Just be a bit louder, won't you? Then I think China will hear what you have to say! Sit down, and stop making such a fuss!" Lexa opened her mouth to shout angrily at him, then apparently thought it wouldn't be best to. She whirled around, and stomped back to her seat, which was about two footsteps away. She sat down, and glared out the window, thin-lipped and stiff shouldered. Liza sat down quietly, and stared into space for what seemed like the next couple of hours. She then checked her watch, and it had only been twenty minutes. Suddenly, she tensed up. "Guys," She began urgently, "There's something funny about this–" The train jerked to a sudden stop, hurling passengers and baggage. When everyone could stand again, The train conductor came in.

"All passengers, please exit immediately, and–" At that second, a giant ripping noise occurred, and the roof was torn right off by massive, unseen claws. In the next second, a giant mouth surged down, and gulp, the conductor no more to be seen. Actually, they could all hear him screaming in agony and pure horror, as the Nemean Lion chewed him to bits, swallowing a stray limb occasionally. It all happened too fast, but the moment drew out into what seemed like minutes. It was all horribly disgusting. Liza realized she, Lexa, and Victor had frozen with shock. Lexa shook her head, and charged at the beast, drawing Silver Mist as she ran. Liza drew Letum and Mors, and Victor brought out his weapon too. They also charged at the twelve foot tall monster, only faltering when they were about to run into mortals screaming in terror and running in random directions for their lives. Liza was almost there, when she sensed young mortal life behind Lexa. "Lexa! Behind you! Quick!" Liza screamed, hoping Lexa would hear. Lexa jerked backwards, and turned, just as the lion on steroids was about to swallow another person, a little girl of about four, crying for her parents. Quick as lightning, Lexa streaked towards her, turning into an owl halfway and lifted the girl out of the way, just as the monster snapped up thin air. Liza ordered Letum to turn into a wolf. He streaked off, distracting the lion, running in random directions so fast, he looked like a blur of jet-black night. Liza began to fight the lion alongside Victor and Lexa with Mors. This was how it usually was. Letum turns into a wolf, and Liza fights with Mors in knife form. Letum was running in random directions around the monster, while it growled and snapped angrily, shaking its head trying to follow his movements. Letum was running so fast, he looked like a blur of jet-black night.

"Liza," Mors hummed softly, his voice sounding metallic and tinny. He spoke in the language of the wolves, but Liza could understand just fine. Mors had always been the quieter of the two. "Don't you remember? The story of the Nemean Lion..." Mors fell silent, as if deep in thought.

"Mors! What story? Tell me–" Liza realized two things: she probably looked really stupid yelling at her knife, which to everyone else looked like they couldn't talk back. She also realized what Mors had been trying to tell her. She glanced over her shoulder to tell Victor and Lexa what to do, but Lexa had already realized long before she did. Lexa was bravely getting as close as she could to the Lion's mouth or eyes without being eaten, and swooping away again when she couldn't reach. Victor was still trying to break through the skin, his sword clanging off it on impact.

"Victor! It's skin is invulnerable! Unpierceable! Aim for the mouth or eyes!" Liza shouted, running back towards the battle. Victor turned, eyes wide, and at that moment, the lion sprang on him, crushing him under two-hundred tons of fat kitty. "No! Victor!" Liza and Lexa cried at the same time. The lion roared triumphantly at their grief and shock, which was a stupid mistake for 's sword had flown from his hand as he was crushed and it hit lion in the eye. It didn't even have a chance to roar again, before it exploded into monster dust. Lexa turned into a human again, running to the spot where Victor disappeared. Liza was already there, she ordered Letum to sniff for tracks, and Mors hummed sympathetically. Liza realized this time, it probably was her fault Victor was missing. When Lexa came, they both searched frantically, but to no avail. Victor had simply disappeared, but to where, Liza was not sure. Lexa turned furiously, and slapped Liza across the face. It stung badly, so she was a good slapper. Liza didn't care, she knew she probably deserved it. Lexa's eyes watered, and she screamed, "Vlacas!" at Liza. Liza simply stared in shock and growing anger at herself, as Lexa sat down and began to sob. Liza felt tears pricking at her own eyes, and she allowed them to fall for the second time in her life, dripping down her cheeks, staining her black hoodie with grief and anger. They fell to the ground, staining the ground like droplets of blood after a murder scene, and she hated herself for distracting Victor. And then, not five feet from them, out of the ground popped Victor.

"Victor! You're alive!" They both yelled at him at the same time, throwing themselves at him with hugs. Liza was so happy he was alive, she cried harder. The rain continued to pour, washing away that blood Liza had cried, washing away her despair. The rain cooled her burning cheek, and the rain soaked her to the bone, and yet she was the happiest girl in the world. Victor was grinning hard, and Lexa was crying with happiness too.

"How did you live?" was the first thing Liza managed to choke out. Victor looked at her a bit strangely, and said, "It's a Demeter thing. Ground escape. I let my essence dissolve, turn into soil, and and came back when I felt it was safe." Lexa wiped away her tears, and said, "Well, I think we should continue. Let's find somewhere to stay for the night." She sounded drained. On that night, Liza sensed a growing friendship between them, as they left the burning train wreck and rolling hills behind, heading arm in arm towards the forest nearby.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

We camped out in a forest that night. Since Plan A had been foiled we needed a Plan B. Any mode of transportation we chose would be quite dangerous. We had considered shadow-travel but Liza didn't have enough energy for it. I suggested Iris-messaging Chiron and asking to borrow pegasi but we decided that flying all the way to Texas and back was too hard for the pegasi. So we decided to figure it out in the morning. Procrastinating, yes. Still we needed sleep. A lot of it.

While Victor and Liza were finishing up dinner around the campfire. I opened my favorite book and sat down in front of a tree several yards away from them. I always feel less stressed while I read a book. Especially if it was a fascinating book such as this one. It was Athens vs Rome: The Differences Between the Greeks and the Romans by Jack Granger. I opened it to the page I was on. It was a normal page. Finally.

I felt a slight tickle on my arm. I slowly turned my head. There was a spider about a inch big. My gray eyes grew wide. I swiftly pushed it off and crushed it with the hilt of my sword. It took a few minutes for my heart to resume its normal beating. I absolutely hated spiders. And spiders hated me. All of my cabin mates had arachnophobia. It was one of the cons of being a child of Athena. I looked up. There was a carving on the tree in front of me. It said: Eagle's Nest: The Official Training Track for the Eagle Claws. Under it was a was a carving of a chariot. My mother is the goddess of arts and crafts so I appreciate good carvings. This was one of the best I've seen. Still I was suspicious. I knew there were professional chariot teams as I loved chariot racing but I'd never heard of the Eagle's Claws.

''Guys, come over here!'' I said.

''What?'' Liza asked as she and Victor came over to see the tree. I told them what it said. She gave me a strange look. She looked at it again.

''How can you read that?'' she asked me. She turned to Victor, ''It's not Ancient Greek, right?'' I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I had almost given away my secret. I realized what language it was in.

''I'm just imagining things. I'm just tired,'' I quickly said, ''I just liked the carving. I really like chariots and chariot racing in general.''

''Oh, I've noticed,'' Liza said smiling. I was surprised. I had rarely talked to her and I wasn't really the kind of person who was always in the limelight.

''Really?'' I asked.

''Well, you are always reading books about chariot racing and you are always working on the Athena Cabin chariot.'' Liza said, ''Plus, didn't your mom invent horses?''

''Actually she invented the chariot. Poseidon invented the horses, but close enough.'' I said. They went back to dinner. I opened my book again. I gasped. There was another message in the margin of the page.

This quest will fail if you keep your secrets away from your friends, Lexa

Who had written this, I wondered. Should I tell my friends my secrets? Was this a trick? I hadn't even told my siblings. Still it couldn't hurt to tell them. I walked over to the campfire and sat next to Victor.

''So guys,'' I started knowing that once the words came out I couldn't take them back, ''There's a group of Roman demigods on the same quest.''

''Roman demigods?'' Victor asked confused. Liza and I filled him in with the little information we knew.

''So why would they go on the same quest as us?'' Victor asked after we explained.

''The gods are taking sides. There's going to be a war between the Roman and Greek gods. They're choosing their Roman or Greek , Hades, Hestia, Apollo and Aphrodite haven't taken sides. This quest is to show the undecided gods which side is more powerful. More gods have sided with the Romans than the Greeks, so if we don't get the golden egg we're sure to lose.'' I blurted out.

''How do you know this?'' Liza asked cocking her head to the left. Victor looked at me inquisitively.

''There are messages in my book. They keep popping up. Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus and Poseidon have sided with the Greeks. Mercury, Jupiter, Juno, Bacchus and Mars have sided with the Romans.'' I said.

''Who, who and who have sided with the Romans?'' Victor asked. He looked confused.

''She means Hermes, Zeus, Hera, Dionysus and Ares have sided with Romans,'' Liza said obviously annoyed with me. So much for the friendship we had for a few hours.

''One, why is Mr.D siding with the Romans? Second, how do we know we can trust the messages you're getting?'' Liza asked.

''Jupiter said if the Romans won he didn't have to be the camp director. He left a few hours after us. Plus, he likes the Romans better than us. I saw Romans fleeing from the train. They were saying how this would delay us and they should seize the chance to be ahead of us. They were talking in Latin.'' I said.

''And how exactly would you know Latin?'' Liza asked getting angrier by the minute.

''I'm half Roman,'' I said letting it sink in. Liza looked shocked. Victor didn't have a reaction. He was still probably absorbing the fact that there were Roman demigods. And that a huge war was about to start.

''Are you kidding me?'' Liza asked. I decided that answering that question was not in my best interest.

''My dad's a Roman demigod. He wrote this book,'' I said pointing to the book with the message in it.

''Who's his godly parent?'' Victor asked curiously. I knew Liza (who was incredibly furious at this point) would not be happy with the answer.

''His dad is Mars,'' I said.

''Absolutely fabulous. This keeps getting better and better.'' Liza groaned. I kept myself from telling her that she shouldn't be talking considering her dad was Hades.

''Anyways, Liza already knows about the prophecy about me. Chiron told me the whole prophecy before we left.'' I said. I paused. This was the secret I had been most nervous about telling them.

''This wonderful storytime hour is taking way too long. Spill it, Owl Face,'' Liza snapped.

A daughter of Athena

More powerful than any other

Will gain victory

Only if her loyalty is right

to her heart

And she is convinced of her view

Battles will rage

All around her

Walls will crumble

She will make the Mist disappear

And the sky fall

''So the prophecy pretty much says that you will go over to the Romans and destroy the world?'' Liza groaned, ''And then Chiron let you go on this quest without telling us about this prophecy!'' She turned to Victor expecting an equally angry reaction. Victor just blinked calmly.

''How can you make the Mist collapse?'' he asked. Liza glared at me.

''Er...well I can control the Mist. I used it to confuse the Nemean Lion a bit. But getting rid of it, even for a moment...I don't think I can do that. The Mist can't just disappear. At least, I think it can't . I doubt I have enough energy to do that anyways. I don't even want to do that.'' I said.

''You don't want to do it yet. I've heard rumors that you had strange powers. Being around you is weird. You have a strange aura.'' Liza yelled, ''I thought that they were making it up! I thought you were nice! Now I know that it's true. I should've listened to Izzy, Emma and Holly. They told me not to go because of you. Even Eva did. And she's your cabin mate.'' She stomped off cursing in Ancient Greek.

''When we had our duel...you created Mist?'' Victor asked.

''I did,'' I sighed. He smiled.

''Can you create Mist now?'' he asked. I opened my palm and imagined silver mist. It came out. I shaped it into a leaf, then a heart and then a star. It shimmered and glowed. It was beautiful.

And dangerous.

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	6. Chapter 6

"Now what?" I asked, as we woke up in the morning. I could see from my perch in the tree the early glow of dawn over the horizon. Lexa was already up, getting some food out of her backpack. Victor raised his head sleepily– and fell out of the tree. That seemed to wake him up, as he groaned and pressed his hand to his temple. "Ow!" I snorted in amusement. "You're not very good with trees, for a son of Demeter!" I said, chuckling. Victor smiled and climbed back up. Lexa had opened her dad's book again, while munching on a protein bar. I called over to her.

"Oi! Lexa! I said, now what do we do? We don't know how to travel to Texas, and we need to get there soon!" She glanced up at me, her eyes glazed from reading her book. "Huh? Oh! Right! Umm... How about..." She said, thinking hard. I coughed meaningfully, so she would pay attention to me again. "There's a truck stop over there. Why don't we borrow a truck, drive down there, and on our way back we return it!" I suggested cheerfully. She narrowed her eyes. "That's stupid, we can't just–" Victor interrupted and said, "That's brilliant! We can finish up here, and go! It's still early, so no one will notice!" Lexa looked furious. I felt badly for her, though. She was so focused on trying to compete with me, prove that she's better, because she hates my guts. But I don't hate her. I'm trying to make friends with her! She was too blind to see it, though. She was so focused on inside the box, inside her own clever, smart brain, that she couldn't look outside the box at what I was trying to do. Victor took out a protein bar, and began eating it. I, on the other hand, took out a small bag of chips, and began eating them slowly, savoring the taste. Both of them looked jealously at me, and I held out my hand. "Do you want some?" I asked. Victor grinned, and took one, Lexa quickly snapped "No!" and went back to her book. I finished the chips, and took out Letum and Mors. "Here you go! Find your breakfast, we'll wait for you!" I shouted, dropping them to the ground from the tree branch I was sitting on. They turned into wolves halfway, Letum pure black, Mors pure white. They streaked off silently, eyes focused on their hunt. I looked over, and realized both Lexa and Victor had noticed. They were gaping wide-eyed back and forth between me and the bushes where my wolf companions vanished. There was a long awkward silence, which I broke with, "Umm... yeah... So my knives can turn into wolves and talk to me... Sorry I didn't tell you before, I was supposed to keep it secret..."  
"That's okay! It's so awesome, it doesn't matter!" Victor said, smiling. I mentally raised my eyebrows. He was oddly optimistic around me lately. Lexa was a different story. She scowled, and said, "So, you summon magnetic fire, and talk to mutts. Anything else you can do?" I sighed. "Lexa, you were always the one to use the proper term. They're wolves, not mutts. Wolves, not dogs. Now, we should–" Letum and Mors returned, leaping into the air, and returning to weapon form. "–Get going. C'mon!" With that, we leaped down, and I led the way to the truck stop.

* * *

We successfully stole a truck, a big black one, so it would be somewhat subtle and somewhat incognito. I really don't feel like going into details of how we did it, in case some idiots out there reading this want to try it out sometime. All I'll say, is that we were like ninjas, it was awesome. I love ninjas. Who doesn't? Anyways, we drove south for the whole day, only stopping once for lunch at a small diner off the highway. It was decent food, too. We had pancakes with syrup and other brunch whatnot. Lexa paid for us all. I'm rather confused by this "mortal money." I watched in fascination, taking mental notes of what she was doing. When she had paid, she looked at me strangely, and said, "What are you looking at? I was just paying the waitress." I shook my head, and stared out the diner window, inside cursing myself for letting my observing be seen. I'm usually very good at not being seen, but Lexa's eyes were sharper than a hawk's. And her brain was probably smarter than even the smartest owl, because she then said, "You don't know how to use mortal money, do you? You've never used it before. Which probably means you've never really been exposed to the mortal world at all." I remained silent, staring out the window. I stood up abruptly, and started walking out the door. "Let's go, we can't be late." They followed me to our borrowed/stolen truck. Victor drove again, and we all were silent for a while. I broke that silence. "Lexa," I began quietly, "Why do you hate me so much?" There was no reply, so I looked back at her, sitting stiffly in her chair. "Because," She hissed at me, "Everyone hates me at camp because of you!" I shook my head. "Wrong for once, Lexa. You know deep inside you're wrong, and so do I." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Cut the mind reading business, okay? What I say you know nothing about. You know nothing about me!" I sighed. She was a slippery one, as they say. "Enough with that. I know plenty about you, and you know plenty about me." I said calmly. "No, you don't! Neither do I! You turned my cabin mates against me, and most of the campers!" Her voice rose to a desperate screech. "That was yourself. There's a difference. I turned myself against the campers, you turned yourself against them with the prophecy." She paused, thinking. "But... everyone likes you..." I shook my head. "No. I'd like to think that they respect me, but do you see that I have any friends there, other than Spencer?" She slowly shook her head. "No, not really..." I replied to this, "The only friends I have are Spencer, Victor, Letum and Mors. And, hopefully, you someday." Her eyes widened. "Everyone has a friend," I said, "Even when you think you don't." She gave small smile, and turned calmly back to looking out of the window. I looked over the seat at Victor. "Well, friend, are we almost there?" Victor wiped something wet off his face. "Yeah," He said, "Only a couple more hours." I smiled, patting his head. "It's okay to cry, you know. I do it. I think Lexa does it. Even my knives cry sometimes! Well, actually, only once when they were pups, but still! Just call them raindrops, or something. I won't ask why, either." Victor looked at me in shock, then turned back to steering. "Okay." He said, and let more raindrops fall from his handsome face. I sat back, and enjoyed the ride.

* * *

When we arrived, meaning crossed over the border, we drove for another couple of hours, then finally pulled aside at an old dock. I hopped out immediately, stretching each leg, which felt awesome after sitting for that long. I let out a long low whistle, as Lexa and Victor hopped out behind me. I allowed Letum and Mors to turn back into wolves, and they did, gratefully, stretching as I did. "Ahh! Bliss! Beautiful, beautiful Texas!" I shouted running along the dock. I think my energy had probably built up for a while for me to be doing this. Lexa and Victor ran around too, us all stretching our legs nicely. Letum and Mors ran alongside us, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, sometimes keeping pace with us. We finally collapsed back next to the truck, each of us laughing our heads off. My body felt strangely warm being next to two accepting humans, but it was nice. They each had a unique aura which was cool. Victor's was a warm darker shade of green, and it kind of smelled like he earth and plants, maybe a bit of... cinnamon? (Yes, the aura's have a scent, too!) Lexa's was more of a dark misty purple, and it smelled like books, I guess, and maybe a bit of a smoky scent, too. My aura was different, my aura was a dark opaque blue-purple, that curled like mist of my skin. It smelled like wolves, and pine, and maybe a bit like snow. We each laughed and laughed, until Lexa sat up and said, "Wait. We're here, what do we do now?" Victor and I sat up, and Victor said, "That's obvious Lexa! We finally start our quest!"

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	7. Chapter 7

So after Liza's "You've got a friend in me," speech we decided to take a break and deal with trying to get to the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Poseidon hated Athena (my mom) and Hades (Liza's dad) so neither of us were excited about this. Victor was building a boat out of tree bark with his Demeter powers. I had time to think about how worried I was about what was happening back at Cabin 6.

Anyways, if you haven't noticed already I'm not popular at Camp Half-Blood. I emit a strange aura because of my powers. People don't like hanging out around me and my siblings barely tolerate me. There are too many rumors about me to count. And everyone has noticed Chiron's attitude towards me which doesn't help either. So the obvious question, 'how in the world did you become head counselor of the Athena Cabin?' is running through your mind.

Once upon a time, five months ago, at the beginning of August (when all of the summer campers were there, so instead of a dozen campers in my cabin, there were thirty) we had a different head counselor who was very popular with the entire camp, especially us. Her name was Tara. She was eighteen years old, and was going to stay at Camp Half-Blood for another school year before leaving. Anyways, Chiron put her on a quest. Before the quest, she told the cabin that she had a feeling she wasn't coming back and that she wished that I would be the next head counselor after her. I was her favorite sibling and her protégé (awesome word by the way), so it sort of made sense in a weird, crazy way. We told her that was nonsense. It wasn't.

When she didn't come back at the beginning of September, my siblings decided to honor her wishes and grudgingly made me head counselor. I wasn't happy about it, but it would be disgraceful to say no, so I accepted. I was thrust into the spotlight, and there were even more rumors than usual about me. Chiron was especially displeased. The only people who were happy for me were my little sister Fern, who is ten and Spencer. Then Spencer went missing.

I thought that Tara's disappearance was a sad incident of bad demigod luck. Spencer disappearing so soon afterwards made me conclude that they probably weren't two unrelated incidents. Two incidents are a coincidence. Two incidents involving demigods is a crisis. We had a crisis now.

* * *

"It's done," Victor said. I turned around. Behind us was a fragile boat made out of bark.

"Are you sure that it will hold our weight?" Liza said, asking the question I was thinking.

"Oak is a strong wood," Victor said, not really answering our question. He pushed it to the edge of the sea and we all got in. We each took a paddle. I had done canoeing at camp but I wasn't that good. My best activity was chariot racing followed by Ancient Greek and spear-fighting. You can't defeat an enemy by conjugating verbs unfortunately. I examined the boat. My mother is the goddess of crafts, so I hoped that I would be able to notice bad construction before we were about to drown in the middle of the ocean. I didn't see anything too problematic.

"Radicitus, comes!" I said smiling.

"What?" Liza asked.

"Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur." I said. I quickly shut my mouth. Why was I randomly speaking Latin all of a sudden?

"Awkward turtle," Victor said. And there was an awkward silence. I changed Silver Mist back into spear form so if a sea monster sent by Poseidon attacked us we'd be ready. I was pretty sure he'd be on the Greek side, but just in case.

"So, why don't you guys enlighten me by telling me about different weapons. I didn't learn that much about them at Camp Half Blood." Victor said. Silence. He coughed.

"I'll start. I like my sword because I can use my strength in battle with it. It's also easy to wield and carry." he said.

"I like my spear because it's light and I can use it to block attacks and attack. It's also good for fighting people in chariots in races." I said. My spear was eight feet long so it was a good thing that it collapsed easily into a bracelet.

"I like my knives, because A. they can turn into wolves and B. they're not easy to block with a shield or armor." Liza said. I decided it was a good time to ask a question I had been wondering.

"So guys, where are you from? Were you raised in the mortal world?" I asked. I already knew Liza wasn't from the mortal world or at least America, because she didn't know how to use American money.

"I was totally raised in the mortal world," Liza snapped. Liza could read emotions, but not well enough, I guess to see that I was just being curious.

"You didn't know how to use mortal money," I pointed out.

"You weren't raised in the mortal world, but you know how to use it. I just...er...forgot," Liza said.

"I learned from books," I said. Liza snorted.

"Of course," she snapped, "I thought you actually learned it from the real world, Owl Face Wait, I forgot, Chiron didn't think you were ready for the real world."

"Oh really, at least I can slay a monster without relying on a pair of wolves to do it for me. Just because you're the daughter of one of the Big Three and you are so powerful doesn't mean you're better that the rest of us. I've been training my whole life to be a hero, I'm more than ready for the real world," I said glaring at her. Liza opened her mouth but just then an arrow whizzed by Victor's ear. I turned around. There were three demigods on the island, and one had his bow raised and was about to shoot another arrow at us.

It was Spencer.

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**Oooh, cliffhanger! Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

I knew I shouldn't have snapped at Lexa about the mortal world issue, especially after promising to be her friend and everything, but I couldn't help it. It was too sensitive, even though I could tell she was just being curious. Lexa opened her mouth to retort, when someone shot an arrow at us from behind. We were under attack. I whipped around, spotting who shot it. And was shocked at what I saw.

****Spencer. He was indeed very much alive, but from the glazed look in his eyes, he must not've realized what he was doing. The other two demigods standing beside him had the same look, unfocused and dreamy. Spencer raised his bow, and shot another arrow at us, narrowly missing Victor's head. "Spencer! What– How– " Lexa stammered. "He's possessed, or even mad. He can't hear you." I explained calmly. Inside, my emotions were churning. How did he survive? What could he possibly do to us? And most importantly, who made him like this? Another arrow flew by, then another. I raised Mors, and threw with precise aim. He went limp, (Strictly speaking. I meant, he allowed me to control him as a normal knife.) and landed straight in Spencer's forehead. My stomach twinged with guilt, but it was the only way. "Sorry," I whispered, as he went cross-eyed and passed out. The other two demigods ran off, as Victor rowed us closer to shore. Why they left, I'm not sure. Maybe for reinforcements, which wouldn't be good. We landed, and Lexa immediately ran to Spencer. She sobbed, and hugged him, while I knelt beside her. "Oh Spencer... I'm sorry. We'll get you out of this state, don't worry!" She whispered. I took back Mors, and slipped him into his case. Suddenly, Spencer's eyes flew open, and fast as a snake, he grabbed Lexa's throat. Victor yelled something, and I whipped out my knives. Spencer's eyes were still glazed, but they had a red tinge to them, whether from the madness or the dying sun I'm not sure. I happened to glimpse his aura, while Victor ran over. It wasn't the usual dark gold, it now had an added layer of bright, blood-red. The scarlet layer flickered and hissed angrily, smothering out the beautiful gold color. His aura now smelled more like something you would find in an abandoned alleyway. Lexa was quick too, and not blinded by the fact that this handsome young fellow was once one of her closest friends. She grabbed his throat too, and for a moment, nothing happened. They were suspended between life and death, friendship and heartbreak. Then Spencer let out an unnatural hissing noise, and said in a rasping, spitting voice completely different from his, "They are here. Brace the army! Fire up the engines! Code word: 敵に死!" Then he went limp again, yet still holding Lexa's throat. She wrenched his hand away, and shakily stood up. I shook my head. "Goodness, what a horrible code word! It was japanese for 'death to the enemy.' Wow, I'm simply astonished at the creativity! What a–" Lexa and Victor both interrupted me. "Come on, Liza!" I then realized they had walked away while I was talking, towards the place where we were supposed to find this 'golden egg.' "Walking straight into danger without a plan. I love it!" We faced the wall, and faced our fate, while alarms started to ring, and Spencer got up from where he had fallen. "Come on! Run, nimrods!" I yelled shoving them towards the door. Spencer caught and shoved us, as we hit the supposedly solid walls. They disappeared, and we vanished, falling down into an endless tunnel. The world turned black above us, as light faded forever.

* * *

**Who's side is Spencer on? Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up on a dusty dirt floor. I let out a groan. We had fallen pretty hard. Lexa and Victor were sitting up and groaning also. I then realized that Letum and Mors were missing. I gasped, looking around wildly, until I spotted them not far from where I was sitting. I scrambled to my feet, and scooped them up. "Letum! Mors! Please turn into wolves! We really need help here!" I shouted. No response, though. That never happened. Victor observed from where he stood. "Maybe they were knocked out too?" He suggested. I shook my head. "They're magic wolves. They can't be knocked out from a silly fall like this." I told him. He just snorted. "Silly fall! We probably fell about 50 feet!" Lexa was trying out Silver Mist. Nothing. Victor frowned, and held out his palm. Nothing, not even a single sprout. Something was totally wrong. And his sword was gone. We all jumped in the next second.

"WELCOME CHILDREN, TO THE LABYRINTH OF DOOM!" An insanely loud voice boomed throughout the whole tiny chamber. And then silence. "WELL? WHAT DO YOU THINK? DRAMATIC ENOUGH FOR YOU?" More silence. I coughed awkwardly, then shouted back, "No! I am absolutely horrified at the lack of creativity you have in this place! Seriously? 'Labyrinth of Doom?' How boring is that! And your code word is just 'Death to the enemy' in japanese!" There was then another long pause. "WELL, DOWN TO BUSINESS. INTRODUCTIONS. I AM YOUR ENEMY, AND YOU ARE MINE. I AM RULER OF THIS LABYRINTH. MY NAME? LABYRINTH OF DOOM! HA HA!" We let the words sink in. Then Lexa called out. "Wait a second! Doesn't this mean that... you're the labyrinth?"

"YUP!" The majestic voice boomed back. The very pit of my stomach twisted into a sickening knot. "Oh my gosh! We could be standing on your face right now!" Victor cried out, then blinked. I think that out of fear he had spoken exactly what was on his mind. Oops.

"UM... YEAH, ACTUALLY. YOU ARE ON MY FACE." The floor rippled, and the dusty, dirt floor formed a face. Yes, it was horrible. It was right under our feet, and took up the whole room. We were standing on its mouth. Ew. "YOUR JOURNEY TO FIND THE GOLDEN EGG WILL BEGIN SOON! BUT REMEMBER, I AM ON YOUR ENEMY'S SIDE! SO, YOUR MISSION STARTS AS SOON AS I SWALLOW YOU!" It boomed without moving its mouth, which was spread in an unnaturally wide grin. "Excuse me?" Victor asked with good reason. Its grin spread wider, as it laughed an echoing sound, this time opening its mouth, as we fell once again into pure darkness.

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	10. Chapter 10

"Owwwww," I screeched. Victor jumped off me. He had landed on me when we had fallen the second time. I bit my lip so I wouldn't burst into tears. I had a reputation of showing as little emotion as possible to keep. I think I had broken my arm and sprained my ankle. I know, I'm half god, so a broken arm and a sprained ankle should be like a mosquito bites, but seriously can't I freak out like a regular human?

"You okay?" Liza asked sounding concerned.

"Yes," I yelped. Liza gave Victor a look. They both looked pretty worried.

"We lost our ambrosia and nectar," Victor said, "But on the bright side your ankle is a pretty shade of purple and pink. Most people's injuries don't turn into colors that pretty. Your arm is also a very nice shade of purple." You may be surprised to find out that the pretty colors of my injuries didn't cheer me up.

"Um, Victor, I took First Aid at camp, and if I remember correctly, pretty colors are a bad sign," Liza said.

"Oh, I forgot that," Victor said as he examined my ankle. I decided that I was done being a drama queen, and I got up. I lost my balance and fell on Victor.

"Ow! You're heavy!" he said as he pushed me off.

"You shouldn't be talking considering I'm injured because you fell on me," I snapped. I felt embarrassed. I couldn't fight in this condition. We were all going to die because of me. Vlacas. And now Spencer was evil. I took out Silver Mist and turned it into a spear. I could use it as a walking stick.

"Oh, there are the heroes." a woman said to another woman as they appeared in the cavern. She was beautiful, with light brown wavy hair and blue eyes. She was stern. The other woman was stunningly beautiful. Her appearance kept switching. She looked like Tara for a moment, and then Liza and then like some of the other girls at Camp Half-Blood and then like some of the actresses I had seen on the TV in the Big House. She smiled sweetly.

"Ariadne and Aphrodite," I said. Ariadne's expression didn't change but Aphrodite laughed.

"Almost right, child," she said, "We're Ariana and Venus, the Roman aspects of Ariadne and Aphrodite."

"I've heard of Venus, but who are you?" Victor asked Ariana. Ariana's eyes filled with pure fury. I half-expected Victor to be blasted into pieces. Liza also looked extremely worried.

"I am Ariana, the Roman aspect of Ariadne, princess of Crete, goddess of labyrinths, paths and passion!" Ariana said, "I know that heroes like you are no good, so full of yourself! Idolizing past heroes!"

"Oh, Ari, get over Theseus. Your love life has been very good. Now, how about we talk about my favorite topic! Love!," Venus said.

"Ok," Victor said sounding relieved that Ariana's rant was over. I knew better than to trust Venus. Love was a powerful weapon. My siblings and I might scoff at her children at Camp Half Blood's vanity, but their mother had started the Trojan war.

"So any crushes?" Venus asked, "Boyfriends? Girlfriends?" Silence. I could've sworn I saw Victor and Liza blush. It then occurred to me that they might like each other. In the like, like way. I mean, I liked both of them, but I sensed they had a further connection. I felt like a third wheel for a moment, but then got over it. I had a crush on someone. Until he turned into a crazy Roman demigod with red eyes. Guess who he is?

"Ah, I know," Venus said, "Ariana has gotten tired of this maze so she loaned it to me. It was designed by your half-brother Daedalus, Lexa. I think it would be boring if I just had you got to the center and defeat a monster, since Theseus has already done that. So, I want you to duel Spencer. If you win, you get the egg. If he wins, he gets the egg. My son, Phobos has possessed him. You don't get help from your friends, or I might vaporize them. I think it will be a nice challenge." She waved her hand. Spencer suddenly appeared.

He charged at me. I knew that I could only use Silver Mist as a javelin if I leaned against the wall to stand up. I threw it him. It sliced his bowstring in half. I took out my backup weapon, a knife Spencer had given me for my tenth birthday. He took out his knife. They were identical. I feinted to the right, and intercepted his knife. I felt Silver Mist in bracelet form on my arm. I changed it into a spear. I forgot my injuries for a moment and jumped at him. It was a mistake. He blocked it and the force of his knife made me fall. Spencer pointed his knife to my chin. His eyes glowed red and I felt instant fear. Phobos' power. I was going to die because of the love goddess. In the wise words of Victor, 'Awkward turtle'.

"Lexa! Get up! You can do it!" Liza yelled, "We didn't go this far to fail!" I grabbed the hilt of Spencer's blade, pulled myself up and elbowed him in the stomach. I used my left arm which was not broken, but not my dominant arm. I took a second to calculate what I was about to do. Nothing could go wrong.

I kicked him in the ankle, judo-flipped him and while blocking his knife with the spear I was holding with my broken arm. He flipped over on the ground. I kept him down with the ball of my spear. He just sighed.

"The victory goes to the Greeks!" Venus announced, "I will tell the Olympians this, and they will take it into consideration when they choose sides." She waved her hand and steps to a opening in the cavern appeared. She handed Victor the golden egg and disappeared.

"Thanks," I said to Liza.

"For what?" she asked, "We couldn't help you. You need to show me that flipping thing sometime. Is it an Athena battle strategy?"

"Actually, its something I made up on the spot. Thanks for believing in me. I would've given up if you hadn't cheered me on. Cliched and sappy but true." I said, " I've spent my whole life dreaming about being a hero, like Perseus, the Amazons and Atalanta. The only person who ever believed in me was Spencer, everyone else thought I was evil. You guys have showed me that I can be a hero."

"Group hug!" Victor said and we group hugged.

"Centaurs!" Spencer yelled. I turned around. Spencer blinked. His eyes were back to their normal color: blue.

"Where's Tessa?" he asked. I realized that he must not remember anything that happened after he got possessed.

"At Camp Half Blood, Spencer," I said giving him a hug as I filled him in with what had happened. He looked shocked.

"Sorry about trying to kill you guys. I didn't mean it." Spencer said.

"I hope so," Liza said, "Since we just saved your sorry butt." We all laughed. We walked up the staircase. I leaned on Silver Mist to keep my balance so I wouldn't fall all the way down and break the remaining unbroken bones and my body, as pretty as the shades of purple and pink they would turn would be. Victor cracks me up sometimes. Yes, I do laugh. Spencer had a packet of ambrosia but since he had lost his memory, he had no idea where it had been. I wasn't too concerned with the five-second rule, but being poisoned would stink so I passed on it. He said prayer to Apollo, which helped a bit.

"You survived," said a relieved voice as we neared the shore. I turned around. It was Chiron and one of his non-fanged brethren. Were you expecting us not to? a voice said in my head.

"Party time!" the other centaur said. Chiron rolled his eyes.

"I have been recruiting my brethren to fight against the φοβόταν τα άλογα," he said, "This is Gary of the Texas chapter of the Party Ponies,"

"The feared horses," I translated, "Are those the fanged centaurs?" He nodded. So he believed me now. I fought to the impulse to say I told you so. Chiron vetoed the idea of driving back home in our "borrowed" car and said it would be faster if we rode on them home. It was Spencer and me on Chiron and Liza and Victor on Gary. The centaurs were fast. It took them only twenty minutes to get out of Texas. I leaned on Spencer so I wouldn't fall and break more bones.

"Thanks, Lexa," he said, "For rescuing me. I get the sense that everyone thought I was dead,"

"Everyone except me," I said smiling. It was great to have Spencer back. Even though I my new friends; Liza and Victor, I still missed Spencer's humor and determination. Soon, we would be back to Camp Half Blood and we could go canoeing and have foot races and climb the rock wall while trying to dodge lava. Typical camp stuff. I then remembered the impending war which wiped the smile off my face. I filled Spencer in with the prophecy. He nodded.

"My dad is the god of prophecy. I have a sense that this prophecy isn't done yet," he said. We arrived in Camp Half-Blood. It was dark and only Argus was out. And a mummy. The Oracle of Delphi. It recited a full prophecy in its raspy voice:

A traveler

Will chance upon the camp

A scroll shall unravel

And point to where to find

A golden egg

Grasped by dragon's claws

By water, air and ground

The three shall travel

Claws for one

Teeth for another

And an eye for the third

Three quests shall be given

A new queen will rise in Rome

Her first warrior

will hesitate to come back home

A

The three shall be divided

And betrayal will be wise

By the heroes' aim

The Greeks will fall or rise.

While a camp crumbles

And fails

Death will tell the tales

Of his victory

It finished and flew into the air and landed on the roof of the Big House. Chiron shook his head.

"I've seen everything now," he said.

"WICKED!" Gary said.

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**The rest of the story is about what happens before the war and the war itself. Keep reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

After that, it all seemed too easy, getting the egg. Oh well! That's what I say. We finished the quest, got the darned egg, Spencer's alive, Lexa's happy for once, (especially when he hugged her. I swear she blushed.) and Victor's looking cuter than ever! If only it was that easy. The Oracle of Delphi spontaneously exploded, which was somewhat amusing to watch, but also extremely horrifying. No Oracle. Yays. Which meant no more quests for anyone, except for the three we were just assigned in her dying moments. Lexa, Victor and I discussed it over dinner, with Chiron's permission. "Well," I began, "What are we going to for our quests? It seems like we have a partial choice, after all. It just has to fit the requirements of the Oracle." Lexa slowly took another bite of her salad, considering what I had said. "You seem to be right about that, with the whole mostly choice thing, Liza. But we also have to consider what quests are available to take." I nodded in agreement, and turned to Victor. "Any suggestions, Vicky-poo?" I asked sweetly, batting my eyes sarcastically. He blushed slightly, and said, "Don't call me Vicky-poo! Lexa, you plant cannibal!" He was now glaring at her salad. "Dude, seriously? We're talking about the three last quests given before the Oracle of Delphi went ka-boom, and you're getting riled up about Lexa's salad of all things?" I told him. He sighed. "Oh well. Only I would understand." Lexa just looked at him like he was a complete psychopath. Not long ago, her crush was though, don't know why she was looking at my crush that way. Hm. Crush sounds weird and violent. I won't use that term anymore. I clapped my hands together cheerfully. "Well then! Since it's mostly choice, I have an idea for my quest!" They both looked up in surprise. "What?" They asked in shocked unison. I coughed dramatically. "Okay. How about... going to Brooks Mountain Range in Northern Alaska, and defeating the troublesome creatures that appear to be stealing things from people living nearby. The creatures have been blamed for basically anything missing, from farm animals, to large quantities of rare minerals, even some humans!" They looked impressed. "Wow! Where'd you find out about that?" Victor asked, eyes wide. "This." I replied, holding up the file Chiron had suggested I take. "Here, Liza," He had said, "You might find this one to suit your liking." Dunno what he meant, but the quest did sound pretty cool. Alaska is pretty awesome. Lexa nodded. "Okay guys," She said, "How about this for my quest..."

* * *

Technically, I'm not a cannibal. I am an organism cannibal, but I am not a plant. So, my salad was a totally appropriate meal. Victor was getting way too sensitive. But we had way bigger issues at the moment. Such as Aphrodite's Valentine's Day Battle of Doom. And my crazy nutty idea.

"I met with Chiron. And he approved my idea. I'm going to steal Mars' elephants." I said. Liza and Victor looked shocked.

"How exactly do you steal the god of war's elephants? I mean, you can't sneak out the back door with them." Spencer said. He sat down with his guitar. He said hello to Liza and Victor, and then diverted his attention back to me.

"Well, Mars gives them to his descendants to use for quests, battles, etc. The descendant gets the helmet and she has control over the elephants. He gave one of his descendants in New Rome the helmet, to use in the battle against us. So I was thinking that I should go spy on New Rome, find the helmet, get the elephants to follow me and make a run for it." I said.

"Why can't you steal the helmet during the battle? It's less risky," Spencer pointed out.

"You need to travel three hundred Roman miles with the elephants to gain their full loyalty. I calculated that it is 565.116279069768 U.S. customary miles." I said, "If I traveled all the way back from New Rome, with the helmet, they'd be loyal to me." Victor and Liza looked flabbergasted at the very exact calculation. Spencer was used to my preciseness and didn't look surprised at.

"Good point," Spencer said.

"Do you want to come with me? I mean, we are pretty likely to get captured or trampled by ten flame-breathing elephants out to destroy the Greeks." I asked him, hoping he would say yes despite all of the risks.

"Sure," Spencer said excitedly, ignoring the last part of what I had said.

"You need to choose a third camper for your quest," a voice behind me said, "Someone strong and smart." It was my older brother, John. He was two years older than me.

"Are you trying to give me a hint that you want to come?" I asked curiously. Two people who actually wanted to go on my crazy quest? He grinned and nodded.

That night, I was pretty sure I didn't want to be on my quest. I decided it would be stealthy to travel to New Rome via flying chariot. All of the pegasi were preparing for war, except Cookie who was a baby pegasus. Cookie was pretty reliable until it started raining over Ohio. Cookie nose-dived, threw us out of the chariot and flew off back to Camp Half-Blood. We were in the middle of a forest, in the pouring rain with various scrapes and scratches. We decided to camp out that night, and then figure out how to get to New Rome in the morning. Sound familiar? Yes, that's exactly what happened in our last quest. Deja vú.

John and Spencer decided to set up the foldable tent I had brought (which I had borrowed from the Hephaestus Cabin) and I decided to look for dry firewood. Dry wood + rain = wet firewood. So, needless to say this was a Herculean task. One of my favorite sayings by the way.

After about thirty minutes, I had succeeded in finding exactly zero pieces of dry firewood. For once, I wished Liza was here so she could use her mildly-creepy-but-actually-pretty-cool Hades deep earth fire power. I mean sometimes I was actually jealous of her daughter of Hades powers. I wondered where she and Victor were. Liza was about to go to Alaska as I was leaving and Victor was saying something about evil Cheerios. It was beyond me how you defeat evil Cheerios. Maybe by drowning them with milk?

"Looking for firewood?" an unfamiliar voice said. I spun around with my spear out. There was a woman in a white chiton and full battle armor. Technically, I'm not a cannibal. I am an organism cannibal, but I am not a plant. So, my salad was a totally appropriate meal. Victor was getting way too sensitive. But we had way bigger issues at the moment. Such as Aphrodite's Valentine's Day Battle of Doom. And my crazy nutty idea.

"I met with Chiron. And he approved my idea. I'm going to steal Mars' elephants." I said. Liza and Victor looked shocked.

"How exactly do you steal the god of war's elephants? I mean, you can't sneak out the back door with them." Spencer said. He sat down with his guitar. He said hello to Liza and Victor, and then diverted his attention back to me.

"Well, Mars gives them to his descendants to use for quests, battles, etc. The descendant gets the helmet and she has control over the elephants. He gave one of his descendants in New Rome the helmet, to use in the battle against us. So I was thinking that I should go spy on New Rome, find the helmet, get the elephants to follow me and make a run for it." I said.

"Why can't you steal the helmet during the battle? It's less risky," Spencer pointed out.

"You need to travel three hundred Roman miles with the elephants to gain their full loyalty. I calculated that it is 565.116279069768 U.S. customary miles." I said, "If I traveled all the way back from New Rome, with the helmet, they'd be loyal to me." Victor and Liza looked flabbergasted at the very exact calculation. Spencer was used to my preciseness and didn't look surprised at.

"Good point," Spencer said.

"Do you want to come with me? I mean, we are pretty likely to get captured or trampled by ten flame-breathing elephants out to destroy the Greeks." I asked him, hoping he would say yes despite all of the risks.

"Sure," Spencer said excitedly, ignoring the last part of what I had said.

"You need to choose a third camper for your quest," a voice behind me said, "Someone strong and smart." It was my older brother, John. He was two years older than me.

"Are you trying to give me a hint that you want to come?" I asked curiously. Two people who actually wanted to go on my crazy quest? He grinned and nodded.

That night, I was pretty sure I didn't want to be on my quest. I decided it would be stealthy to travel to New Rome via flying chariot. All of the pegasi were preparing for war, except Cookie who was a baby pegasus. Cookie was pretty reliable until it started raining over Ohio. Cookie nose-dived, threw us out of the chariot and flew off back to Camp Half-Blood. We were in the middle of a forest, in the pouring rain with various scrapes and scratches. We decided to camp out that night, and then figure out how to get to New Rome in the morning. Sound familiar? Yes, that's exactly what happened in our last ques

John and Spencer decided to set up the foldable tent I had brought (which I had borrowed from the Hephaestus Cabin) and I decided to look for dry firewood. Dry wood + rain = wet firewood. So, needless to say this was a Herculean task. One of my favorite sayings by the way.

After about thirty minutes, I had succeeded in finding exactly zero pieces of dry firewood. For once, I wished Liza was here so she could use her mildly-creepy-but-actually-pretty-cool Hades deep earth fire power. I mean sometimes I was actually jealous of her daughter of Hades powers. I wondered where she and Victor were. Liza was about to go to Alaska as I was leaving and Victor was saying something about evil Cheerios. It was beyond me how you defeat evil Cheerios. Maybe by drowning them with milk?

"Looking for firewood?" an unfamiliar voice said. I spun around with my spear out. There was a woman in a white chiton and full battle armor. Her long black curls were under a battle helmet and her piercing gray eyes made her look like she knew everything about everything. At her feet was a pile of dry firewood. She started to speak as I realized who she was.

"It wouldn't be wise to have a fight with the goddess of war and wisdom," she said. I turned Silver Mist back into bracelet form.

"Sorry," I apologized. She smiled.

"I can't stay for long, Lexa. I want you to go to the headquarters of the Amazons. I assume you are familiar with their role in Greek history?" Athena said.

"Yes," I said. In case you are wondering, the Amazons were female warriors.

"Well, right now they are running and saving the world. As one of their patron goddesses, it is my duty to help them. Right now, their leader is Queen Asteria Johnson, Daughter of Jupiter. She was going to side with the Greeks, but she was overthrown by Casseiopeia Reed, Daughter of Bellona Her lieutenant is Tara." Athena added with obvious annoyance as she mentioned Tara.

"Tara?" I asked stunned.

"Yes, she unfortunately sided with the Romans," she said, "But Casseiopeia is the bigger threat. She needs to duel with a challenger to the throne to officially become queen. Asteria has gone to get help from senior Amazons, but that won't do much good if Casseiopeia becomes queen. The Amazons swear an oath on the River Styx to be loyal to the queen or leave, and most of them would rather be loyal to Casseiopeia rather than leave in disgrace."

"Uh," I said wisely. Why was she telling me this? Did she want me to duel Cassiopeia?

"Asteria asked me to send a warrior to duel Cassiopeia," Athena said, "And I'm going to send you," That answered my question.

"What happens if I lose?" I asked.

"Well, death for you. And victory for the Romans. The Amazons are skilled warriors. With them on the Roman side, the Greeks have an even smaller chance of winning," Athena said. She paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"Can I get help from Spencer and John?" I asked. Very noble of me, not being able to challenge someone on my own. I was being sarcastic, in case you missed that. She shook her head.

"If you win the duel, the Amazons can help you with your quest to steal Mars' elephants. So you would be killing two birds with one stone. But you have to swear an oath on the River Styx," she said. Great, this was getting better and better. The first time I meet Athena, she sends me on a quest that could determine the fate of the world.

"What's the oath?" I asked.

"That you will try your best to reach the headquarters of the Amazons, duel with Cassiopeia Reed and win. And if you do win, you will stay as lieutenant until the war has ended." Athena said.

"Lieutenant?" I asked, "But I have only read about Amazons, I can't be second-in-command."

"Refusing power? Not very Roman of you, Lexa. Especially as a legacy of Mars." she said lightly. I blushed. I had never thought of myself as a Roman or a legacy of Mars. Was that a bad thing?

"I'm a Greek demigod and proud of it," I said firmly. Athena smiled.

"Do you swear on the River Styx to the terms?" she asked. I paused to consider the consequences.

"I swear on the River Styx," I said.

"Thank you, Lexa. I have a guide for you. His name is Alfred. He is a very wise owl." Athena said. She waved her hand. An owl swooped down.

"You should wash your hair. It's muddy." he said. I blinked. A talking owl?

"You should be more polite, Alfred," Athena said as she gave him a withering look.

"The owl's name is Alfred?" I asked stunned.

"I named him Fettuccine Alfredo the Philosophically Wise Owl, but that's a mouthful so I just call him Alfred or F.A.P.W.O." she explained. F.A.P.W.O. landed on my shoulder.

"You look like a spaghetti person. I hate spaghetti people." Alfred said.

"What's wrong with spaghetti people?" I asked. Spaghetti was one of my favorite foods. Yes, it was creepy that my mom's talking owl could tell what foods I liked.

"Your life is like the ends of spaghetti hanging off a fork. Your personality is the texture of spaghetti. Your ideas have the viscosity of meatballs. Need I say more?" Alfred said stiffly.

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	12. Chapter 12

I stopped tapping my foot impatiently against the cold floor of the bus, and looked out the window. Memories of the past few hours flashed back to me: Chiron suggesting taking two other campers with me on my quest, me refusing; Liza, Victor, and I packing for our quests; The neatly drawn map of Alaska I had made (Actually, it was about as well drawn as a Kindergartener's artwork, but whatever!); The shy little peck on the cheek Victor gave me, right before we were all going to leave; and the long, long bus trip to Alaska. Victor hadn't said much about his quest, but it had something to do with this person called "Arrow." Actually, I don't even know whether it's a person or not. I checked my watch. Half an hour left, thank the gods! No-wait, maybe it was one hour? Or two? Maybe three? I gave up, and decided to sleep a bit.

* * *

Of course, my dreams took place in the Underworld. I saw my father sitting in his obsidian black throne. I knelt down on one knee, crossing my left arm over my heart, the other brushing the cold floor. Or ground. Or whatever this place was gravitationally balanced on. "Honorable Father," I began formally, "What is it that summons me here?" He grunted. "Formal as ever, I see, Liza. I'm here to talk about your quest, like a good father should." I almost snorted right in his face. Ha, 'good father.' My mother was living in poverty, but Lord Hades had healed her broken heart, and soon I was born. Then he left, after telling her who he really was. We still lived poorly until I was about five, then she abandoned me on the streets when I was six, after we had grown so poor we lost our home, and right before she went berserk and killed herself. Good father, indeed! My last memory of my mother was her kissing my head, telling me to stay, and walking out of the friend's house we were staying at. I still remember the sweet scent of her long, soft brown hair. I also remembered ignoring her wish, and following her after a short while. I at last found my mum lying cold, still, and deathly pale in the dark basement, the knife glinting faintly, warm blood still dripping from her throat. I ran away after that, and when I was eight, I joined forces with Letum and Mors, still young pups, also abandoned. Camp Half-Blood found us when I was ten. Never once did my father visit me, or help me and my mother, though I prayed every night. I remained kneeling, silently. He coughed. "So, you are going after the fearsome Ice Gryphons, correct?" I stayed silent, nodded once slightly. "Do you have a plan in mind?" I nodded once more. "Well, you seem alright then with that. Next order of business... your powers." My head snapped up in shock, then realized, and forced it back down. "It's okay, you can lift your head now." He told me. I looked up. "Well, I'm sure you've discovered the many privileges and downsides of being a daughter of Hades. First, unusual, strong powers. Second, many enemies and lack of friends." It was true what he said, at least he knew me well in that area. In others, not so much. I nodded for the third time now. "Well, what have you found so far?" I looked at him directly in the eye. They were cold, emotionless, lifeless, and yet enticingly warm at the same time. "I've found I can use Death Shield, Magnetic Energy, and I can speak with wolves, sir." He nodded thoughtfully in agreement. "Hm... so nothing relating to summoning the dead, or conferring with ghosts in any way? You're unusual for a daughter of mine." I gritted my teeth. "Thanks, 'honorable' one." Oops. Big mistake. I lost my false formality. His black eyes glittered with flecks of amusement. "There's no need to be so formal, you know. I'm your father, after all." I glared at him. "No, you're not. I prayed for your help every night, and you never listened. My mother killed herself, but you didn't even come to her funeral or anything. I ran away, and you never cared. I even had to have 'The Talk' from an older counselor at camp, not even from a parental guardian, like a normal child!" With this, I turned away from him. "Your time for a chance to redeem yourself is up." I said, and willed myself to woke up. He never said another word.

* * *

I did wake up on the bus, as we came to a final stop, finally reaching Alaska. I got up from my seat, half-listening to the dull radio music coming from the cheap bus speakers, or the monotonous drone of the bus driver announcing our arrival. I was listening more to the thumping pounding of my heart, and to the terrible pangs of guilt wedged deep in my stomach.

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	13. Chapter 13

I paused in the middle of the maze of tall grass stalks, and stood up. Everything was a sea of gold, rippling in the Kansas wind. I remembered my two friends on their quests. Lexa and Spencer going to the West to steal the war god's elephants. Liza, Letum, and Mors going to Alaska to fight troublesome Gryphons. Of course, I was going to Kansas, to defeat evil cheerio gods. Nope, sorry– Cheerioites. And according to Chiron, they looked basically like giant cheerios, but with mustaches, monocles, and top hats. Oh, and the way they eat things, is through the giant hole, with sharp, pointed teeth surrounding the hole. They literally absorb you by sucking you into oblivion through a giant hole with teeth. Great. All I needed to do was find them in this giant field. I sighed. Just 'cause I was the son of Demeter, doesn't mean I have to go and defeat cheerios of all things. Suddenly, I sensed a presence nearby. An evil one. I relied on instinct, and slashed out with my sword, which I had recently named Elmo. It slashed nothing. Before I could react again, a Cheerioite popped out from the grass. It was slightly smaller than my height, gnashing its ugly pointed teeth. I immediately cut it in half, and it went poof into monster dust. But more crawled out from the tall grasses, and before I could blink I was surrounded. The grasses parted to reveal the Cheerioite king, the biggest and ugliest of them all. His mouth opened, and he spoke. "Victor," It said, "We know who you are. We know why you are here. We know what you are looking for. Surrender, and your friends shall be spared." Hm. So easy. "All right," I said, defeated, "I surrender." It looked at me in shock, which was when I sliced it in half. The other ones panicked as it exploded into dust, and I sliced as many as I could in half, too. Finally, all were gone. I sheathed my sword, and continued through the field. Well, that took care of that. Now I just had to find a place to sleep, and I did a little while later in a tree outside of the field. I checked my watch. About 9:00. So, I promptly fell asleep, my dreams filled with Liza, Lexa, and Spencer, but mostly Liza. I do hoped she felt the same way about me that I felt about her. So now my short quest was over. What to do, I thought to myself in my dreams. Follow the ones you love, I replied. So it was final. I was going to follow my friends on their quests.

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